Book of Romans
Lesson #37
Romans 14:1- 7
By Rev. James May
As we have said many times, we may all attend the same services, hear the same messages, read the same Bible and do our best to listen to the voice of the Lord and follow the leading of the Holy Ghost. But even though we all do these things, there is no such thing as all of us being exactly the same in spiritual maturity and in the understanding of the ways and nature of God.
Everyone here is at a different level in our spiritual growth.
There are many factors that may inhibit spiritual growth. All of us have some things that tend to get in the way of spiritual growth. Some have more than others, but not one of us can say that we are free of any obstacles in our life that tend to keep us back until we can overcome them.
One of the major obstacles that must be overcome if we are to grow spiritually is the limiting power of the desires of the flesh. Even the most mature Christian on earth still has to deal with these issues and attempt to maintain control over them.
Nothing destroys the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit in us like pride. There is no one on the planet who doesn’t like to have their ego stroked once in a while. And if we aren’t very careful, we might get the idea that what we are able to do in the kingdom of God stems from our own ability. When we begin to think that we have somehow caused the hand of God to move through our own spirituality, that’s when the Holy Ghost backs off. God is not going to share the glory with any man.
How many hindrances there are depends upon who you are how many you want to admit are there, but let me just give you a few more things that can limit your spiritual growth.
1) Complacency – this means that we have found a comfort zone; a place where we feel content and satisfied with who we are and where we are in Christ. We know that we are saved and we’ve just settled back in our spiritual easy chair and we are waiting on the Rapture.
2) No vision for the lost – there is no concern for those who aren’t ready for the Rapture. All that matters is that we are ready. When we lose that zeal to win souls and witness for Jesus, not only is the Holy Spirit grieved, but we are getting dangerously close to losing our own souls. If we aren’t fired up to do the work of the ministry that is the very heart of our purpose in Christ then how can we grow in him?
3) We lost our ability to die to self – this is clearly visible in the church today. Christians everywhere are self-centered, self-absorbed and self-satisfying. They only desire to know and serve the Lord to the point that it makes them happy, but never to the point that it makes them stretch and grow or change what they already like doing.
4) Not enough spiritual food to grow on – this is speaking of prayer, study in the Word and hearing from God. If we never consume the Word; never commune with God; and don’t even know the voice of the Lord, then we are headed in the wrong direction. Without food; we die whether it is natural food or spiritual food.
There are many more things that can limit spiritual growth; things like the level of education that you may have to help you understand things better; the experiences in your life that often interfere with accepting the truth because it doesn’t match what you’ve been taught in the past; and even how you see yourself because a lot of people just can’t see themselves as being any better that they are right now.
There are two great truths about spiritual growth that we must all recognize.
1) It is not automatic, it is intentional. We have to be willing to commit ourselves to the process of learning and growing in the Lord.
2) Spiritual growth comes from God, but is gained only when we actively seek after it while allowing the Holy Ghost to lead us and teach us.
And so, with this in mind, let us continue by saying that there will always be those who are weaker in the faith than you are, and there will always be those who are stronger in the faith than you are! But whether we are weaker, or stronger, doesn’t mean that God loves us any differently than anyone else, and it doesn’t mean that any of us can’t grow in the Lord and become as strong in the faith as we want to.
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
I remember an illustration that I read that kind of helps at this point in our lesson.
Think back at the Children of Israel while they were yet in Egypt’s bondage. It was the eve of their deliverance and the death of the firstborn of Egypt was imminent. The instructions to the Children of Israel were that they had to kill and eat a lamb, but they were to place the blood of the lamb on the sides and top of the door to their homes. This blood was the only thing that stood between them and certain death on that terrible night.
All around them, the firstborn of all Egypt were dying, both of man and beast. But the Children of Israel were safe. The only problem was that not all of them were as confident as others concerning the promise of God to pass over them.
Some may have cowered in fear, wondering if the blood was sufficient, fearful that it may not have been applied correctly, or that their lamb wasn’t good enough to be accepted as the sacrifice. All through the night they shook and trembled as they heard the cries of those who were experiencing judgment.
Others sat behind their doors where the blood had been applied with absolute faith, knowing that God was merciful and would pass over them. Their faith was strong and it gave them confidence all during the dark hours of judgment.
When the sun arose in the morning, both families were saved, not because of the strength of their faith, but because of their obedience in applying the blood of the lamb.
Whether your faith is weak, or your faith is strong, really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have placed that faith in the only thing that will deliver you – the blood of Jesus and his sacrifice upon the cross to pay for your sin.
So what Paul is saying is that if you think you’re more spiritually mature and you believe you have a greater spiritual understanding than someone else who is near, don’t allow pride in your own strength and understanding keep you from accepting the one who has the weaker faith.
If the blood of the lamb has been applied to their heart, and they have place their faith in Jesus, that’s all it takes to be on equal standing with God as his own child.
The blood will never lose its power. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and so is the power of his blood to wash away sin. The power of the blood isn’t diminished because we are brand new as a Christian, neither is the power of the blood made stronger because we have been serving God for a long time.
The power of the blood is the same for all, and it’s faith in the power of that blood that causes us to be born again. Once we have been covered by the blood and our sins are washed away, then our eyes are opened spiritually and we can begin to grow in Christ. From that point onward, it is the combination of the work of the Holy Ghost in us and our willingness to commit ourselves to the Lord that makes the difference.
So, if one comes in that seems to totally confused, not understanding the ways of the Lord, perhaps as a newborn baby in Christ, having just been converted, we are to accept them as being a Christian and just love them in spite of their weakness.
Even if they have been saved for a while, but through many wrong turns and perhaps being under the leadership in the church where there is no strong teaching and no meat of the word, they come in with a lot of misconceptions of God and his ways, and really unskillful in the word, we are still to accept them and then to try and teach them the truth.
The only thing that we must be careful of is what Paul calls, “Doubtful Disputations”. In my mind that simply means that there are a lot of things that we argue about that don’t amount to anything when it comes to salvation. We all have differences of opinions about one point of doctrine or another, but do those points really have anything to do with the faith that we have in the blood of Jesus?
One commentator on this subject of “doubtful disputations” suggested that this could include the idea of what most of us would call, “Personal Convictions”. The Bible does tell us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Because of the differences in our personalities, likes and dislikes and our differences in interpretation of many things in God’s word, we all have things in our own lives that may not be a part of another person’s life. God deals with each of us individually. He knows the heart of each man and woman. He knows what is in each of us that may hinder us, or that we should deal with to be able to draw closer to him and the Holy Spirit deals with each of us accordingly.
What is not a problem for me may be a great stumbling block for you, or vice versa. Often times it is these personal convictions and the working of the Holy Spirit within us that are the source of doubtful disputations.
We will also see some of the sources of those doubtful disputations as we continue in chapter 14.
Romans 14:2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
One of the great disagreements in our society is that of people who believe that they are to be vegetarian only, and those who think that any creature that walks, crawls, swims or flies is fair game for the dinner table. We in South Louisiana often fall into that last category, though I’m sure there are some here now who still lean more toward the vegetarian lifestyle.
Is it wrong either way? Is it right either way? Does what you eat matter for the salvation of your soul? NO, of course not!
In one illustration, or vision that Peter had in Acts chapter 10, Peter saw a great sheet come down from Heaven with all kinds of animals and creatures in it. Then the voice of the Lord said, “Rise up and eat”. Peter was reluctant to do so because to the Jews these creatures and animals were unclean. Peter was having a doubtful disputation with the Lord himself over what was clean and unclean, until the Lord said, “What I’ve cleansed, you have no right to call common.”
I know this really pertains to the spreading of the gospel to the Gentiles who the Jews considered to be unclean, but it’s amazing to me that God would use animals, birds and creepy crawlers to say that they were good to eat to someone whose personal convictions said otherwise.
In another place in scripture the Bible says that it’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles, but what comes out of it.
So what you can eat or not eat really doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of personal conviction and personal preference, so why argue over it?
Romans 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Remember, it is the power of the blood of Jesus that saves us from sin; not what we choose to eat. It’s what goes into and cleanses the heart that truly matters. It’s faith in the blood that counts. Everything else is secondary, and we all change and follow Christ, working out our salvation as the Spirit leads.
We are all servants of the same Lord Jesus Christ. There is but one faith, one Lord, and one baptism and it’s all Jesus!
How your heart is with God is only between you and God and neither I, nor anyone else, has the right to judge your standing with God. All we can do is present the word, preach the truth and let the Holy Ghost do the rest. If you need changing, the Holy Ghost will be your teacher. If you need correcting; the Holy Ghost is your guide! I can give advice and hopefully show some things that might help you, but it’s all between you and the Lord.
It’s like the old commercial from the U. S. Forest Service that featured Smokey the Bear who said, “Only you can prevent forest fires!” Well, when it comes to the salvation of your soul and staying out of the lake of fire, “Only you, and your faith in Christ and obedience to the leading of the Holy Ghost, can prevent being in the fire for eternity!
No other man is called to be the judge of your standing with God. Many men can help you, as the Holy Ghost leads them to, but in the end it’s up to you to make your calling and election sure!
Romans 14:5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Romans 14:6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Among Christians around the world there are a multitude of cultures, ethnic practices and traditions that men may follow. Holidays, festivals, celebrations and all kinds of traditions come into play.
As long as those practices do not oppose the word of God what difference does it make?
So what if I love Christmas and see nothing pagan about it! I can just as easily, in my own heart, decide that everything about it reminds me of Jesus and something of his nature and the goodness of God. There is no sin in celebrating it for me.
But if another Christian wants to see everything pagan in it, and he is convicted in his heart for observing those things and sees nothing in that reminds him of Christ, then for that man, it probably is sin. If the Holy Ghost convicts him of it, then he must leave it alone.
The same goes for Easter or any other religious holiday!
Then what about celebrating Independence Day, or some other national holiday?
We in America celebrate it on July 4th, but that date has no meaning for other nations on earth, and in England it certainly is not a day to celebrate because that was the day they lost their American colonies and lost their standing as a world power.
As long as what we do is done with the idea that we are praising God and giving God glory for the good things in life that we enjoy, that’s all that matters.
Of course, we also must exercise good judgment and not allow our hearts to be drawn into something that is in no way glorifying God. We can’t let that be an excuse for participating in sin. We are all commanded to avoid even the appearance of evil!
The thing is that we all live as a community of believers in Christ who are glorifying God in all that we do. We cannot celebrate things that glorify evil or Satan and call that good, but we can celebrate that which gives God glory and praise.
In all that we do Christians must act according to the mind and will of God, and not follow our own will. All that we do must please God because we are accountable to Him.
God is our Master! Jesus is our Lord! Let our hearts and lives be pleasing in his sight, no matter what other men may think.
We must be aware of the impact our actions might have on those of weaker faith because we don’t want to be a stumbling block to their faith, but we also cannot allow the convictions of other people to keep us from enjoying the victory we have in Jesus.
Let every man be persuaded in his own heart, through following the Holy Ghost and obedience to the Word of the Lord! Judge no one according your own personal convictions; neither argue those convictions with others. Serve the Lord with all your heart! Accept your brothers and sisters in the Lord as they are, and then let God be their teacher.
Our job is to love them and help them grow in Christ, not to argue and tear them down because they believe different from we do. God is their Master and they will have to answer to him alone.
